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Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Michigan Bigfoot: Dire Warning!

I received the following article today. It briefly gives a history of Bigfoot and some of the early controversy. Then the writer describes a personal encounter told to him. If you have a detailed article or encounter report and wish to have it published, feel free to forward to me. I reserve the right to edit or reject...though that rarely occurs. Thanks:

By Mark Hearn - Bigfoot in Michigan? Most people, even if they think they exist, think of the large “Hairy Guy” as being a recluse of the Pacific Northwest. In actuality, the alleged creature has been spotted in every state of the Union except Hawaii. Tales of this creature are documented as far back as 1700. Native American culture tells of encounters with Bigfoot and how they have come to accept him as just another species that lives amongst them. Bigfoot has been depicted in Native American stories and honored in their totem poles as something to be revered.

I have always been intrigued with the Bigfoot phenomenon. Back in 1967 or 1968 was when I first heard the headline story about Bigfoot. The story was about a film taken by an ex-rodeo rider named Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin. It all started while they were out horseback riding in Northern California and something spooked Patterson’s horse and he was thrown to the ground. While fumbling for his camera he starts shooting the film and it is very shaky. Once he has had a chance to compose himself and secure the camera you see a large, female creature, completely covered in fur, walking away from them. I believe it was a female because you can clearly see breasts on the animal.

There has been much controversy over this film. Some people say it is just a person in a monkey suit – simply a hoax, while others believe it to be a true Bigfoot sighting- stating that something like this would be too difficult to replicate. At the time of the filming, costume designers from Disney Studios saw the film and believed there was no way to duplicate a costume that could even come near what was on the film. The muscles were clearly defined as the creature moved and they felt they could never duplicate something like that in a costume. It was at this point in time that many others came out of the woodwork and told tales of their encounters. This is when I got hooked!

My personal story starts when my wife and I were vacationing in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula last September in the town of Munising. Highway M28 runs through Munising and it is right on Lake Superior. This area is brimming with vast forests, trails, crystal clear lakes and many, many waterfalls

We stopped into one of the local pubs one night and this is where I was fortunate enough to meet a local there named Laurie. Laurie was waiting on us and we were chit-chatting back and forth when before I knew it, the conversation somehow turned to Bigfoot. She mentioned that she had seen a Bigfoot, and had had several encounters with the beast. Right away that caught my attention. Laurie certainly did not seem to be looking for attention, or publicity or at all delusional. She was very excited about the topic, but also very matter of fact when she spoke about her experiences with Bigfoot. I will repeat the story of her first encounter in 1983

Here is her story as it happened, which she has given me permission to re-tell.

It was approximately 12:30 PM on a hot muggy July night in Munising, Michigan. Laurie and her companion decided to go to the lookout high on a bluff overlooking highway M28. They were sitting on top of the hood of their car chatting and passing time. After about a half hour Laurie hears a noise off to her right side about 25 yards or so away. That’s when they hear, and feel a loud chesty growl/ roar emanating from that direction. She said you could feel the vibration of whatever it was roaring at them. It was nothing that either one of them had ever experienced before. The sheer terror of what was happening made every muscle in their body instantly freeze up making it difficult to even breathe. As they sat there frozen in time, the creature started to jump up and down on the pavement. She said it was so loud that you could hear the skin on its feet slapping on the pavement and all the while making this God awful shriek that was directed at both of them. It was almost like this thing was protesting them being there in its territory.

About this time Laurie’s companion pushed her off the hood of the car and said, “GO GO GO”. As she jumped into the car and started to leave she realized that her companion was not inside the car but was stuck outside the door being dragged along side down the hill. At this point she stopped the car so that he could jump in. After getting in they could hear this thing, whatever it was, crashing through the wood and they could hear it pick up and slam down a nearby tree. Then it moved on down the hill away from where they were. After the shock of what they had witnessed they both were shaking and started crying, realizing how close they came to potential danger.

After they had a chance to calm down, Laurie came to the conclusion that they had been approached by a Bigfoot. There was no doubt in her mind as to what it was that had paid them a visit that evening. She also said in regards to her encounter, “It could have killed us but it didn’t. It just wanted us out of the way”. Come to find out at a later date there are caves below that bluff but they were on further down the hill on Lake Superior.

As I said, this was the first of several encounters that Laurie has had over the years. I will no doubt tell the story of her next encounter at a later time. I thank Laurie for her courage to come forward with these stories.

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